The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

It’s not a bird, it’s not a plane, and it definitely isn’t Superman: Oscar Mayer is adding a drone to its Wienermobile fleet, one that the company says will drop hot dogs on hungry, Earthbound customers below — one wiener at a time.

The drone is 15 inches wide (without propellers), 24 inches long, and weighs about six pounds. It can fly for up to 15 minutes — around a mile total — carrying a single hot dog at an altitude of 1,200 feet.

The WienerDrone — joined by fellow newcomer, the WienerCycle — will debut its hot-dog dropping capabilities in Weiner, AR, on the Fourth of July, Oscar Mayer says, as part of a campaign promoting its overhauled hot dogs. The dogs are now free of all added nitrates, nitrites, by-products, and artificial preservatives.

It’s unclear whether or not these drones will also dispense condiments.

According to the company, the WienerDrone is the first unmanned hot dog-carrying aircraft designed for remote location delivery. However, it’s worth noting that the Phillie Phanatic has been launching hot dogs from a pressurized wiener gun at baseball fans since 1996. He has also been known to turn the wiener gun on rival mascots: